lester. >> jim miklaszewski in kabul tonight, jim, thanks. >>> in africa, south sudan became the world's newest country today, gaining five decades of struggle. tens of thousands celebrated the occasion, while south sudan is rich in oil, it is underdeveloped and will still rely on pipelines controlled by sudan. president obama said both countries will be more secure and prosperous if they move peacefully beyond their differences. >>> tomorrow at the white house it's this country's budget woes that will be front and center as the president has a rare sunday sit-down with both democrats and republicans. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house tonight. mike? >> reporter: good evening. lester, tonight a source close to those negotiations says the chance for a so-called grand bargain on reducing this nation's national debt are now waning. on the table, a package worth some $4.5 trillion in savings m9ñ it would dramatically overhaul the tax code. it would make it simpler. it would make it flatter. it would reduce taxes all the way around, all up and down the income ladder. many tax loophole